Hole saws are a very widely used tool for many applications. Typically a hole saw includes a flat solid base that is locked by a drill, the base providing support for the hole saw. Some bases include multiple diameter grooves adapted to accommodate hole saws of different diameters. Typically these bases, with a plurality of concentric grooves, are of a diameter greater than the hole saw blade and as a result drilling depth is limited to the length of the hole saw body portion. This limitation restricts the possible uses of the hole saw and possible surfaces able to be drilled.
Other hole saws are single sized, overcoming the abovementioned problem of a larger diameter base but requiring the user to change the entire hole saw for each application. A user with a single sized hole saw needs to replace the hole saw for each surface being drilled as well as for each different diameter hole. The removal and installation of hole saw bodies for each new application or following the failure of a hole saw blade is troublesome, labour intensive, and time consuming.
Holes saw blades use different cutter materials and configurations to more effectively cut the surface being drilled. For example, serrated carbide tipped hole saws are generally used to drill harder and more abrasive surfaces than is possible with a regular steel blade. Some composite woods are more effectively cut with a different blade configuration and are best cut with a single tooth carbide tipped cutting element. Abrasive materials such as glass, ceramics, stone, asbestos and some plastic surfaces also require different cutting materials and configuration of the hole saw blade. A diamond or carbide grit encrusted blade is typically used in these applications. As each application may require a different hole saw blade configuration, the user is required to maintain an inventory of different hole saws for each surface to be drilled and each diameter of hole, inclusive of back up hole saw bodies in the event of blade failure. Such a large inventory is both cumbersome and expensive.
In addition where different depth holes need to be drilled the user has to have an extensive hole saw inventory with hole saws of different lengths that can drill through different depths. When the hole saw wears out the whole hole saw has to be replaced at great expense.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to overcome the aforementioned problems and to provide the public with a useful alternative.